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Carbie to a Fatie

07-11-2011, 01:04 PM

My name is Andy, and I am 24 years old. I’ve always been a big guy, and put on a good amount of weight in the last two years, as I was finishing up college. Between stress, time constraints, poor diet (mostly money related), and partying my weight crept up. I tried to work out when I had time but it made little or no impact. After college, I moved to a new city and started my first ‘big boy’ job about 4 months ago. I exercised most nights after work, drank significantly less, and ate what I thought was healthy foods. I subscribed to the 5 small meals a day, and tended to snack on, what most would consider, healthy foods (granola bars, lots of fruits, sandwich with whole grains). I lost a little weight initially, but falling off the wagon (pizza on weekends, fast food lunch) pretty much got me to a dead stall.
My brother-in-law got me started on primal blueprint, after a family cabin trip. I was extremely skeptical, as most people should be when you hear about a diet that includes a lot of butter and bacon, and tells me not to have my morning OJ. I thought it was sort of like atkins, which I was leery of because I heard it had a bad yo-yo affect. (If anyone would like to elaborate on this, I am all ears). I am also a scientist, so in order to convince me I required cold facts. I saw his results, and he swears by it, so I gave it a good listen, and did a bit of research on my own.
I am currently on day 6, and so far very optimistic about it. I do feel some symptoms of the ‘carb-flu’ coming on, I’ve been sort of tired all day today (could be just that it’s Monday), and also noticed a big dip in my endurance at my hockey game. I am not deterred, and will press on!
Shopping is definitely a trip. I notice that I buy a lot of fresh foods, (almost none, if any, frozen or overly-processed foods). Basic foods include red meats (lots), eggs, veggies (green pep/onion/spinach mostly), dark berries (raz, blue, black, straw varieties), and some unsweetened coconut (had to track it down in a health store 90 minutes away). Immediately I noticed an extreme drop in my appetite. I eat small, filling meals that last for a long time. I have a more ‘eat to live’ outlook then ‘live to eat’, I am rarely hungry, so I rarely get food cravings.
A few questions:
-I enjoy a glass of scotch at night after work, I skip the beer, and don’t mix in any soda. Is this acceptable on a PB diet? I would consider switching to red wine, and eventually look to phase it out all together.
-I can’t run very much because of my bad knee, a typical cardio workout consist of either the elliptical or exercise bike. Is sprinting on an elliptical an acceptable substitute? I work around it, doesn’t give me too much pain, and hope with some weight loss I will be able to run more in time.
-I enjoy reading a book and briskly cruising on an exercise bike, is this an appropriate activity for a ‘move slowly’ workout?
I’m excited for this big lifestyle change, and inspired by all the awesome stories here. I ordered the book, and expect it to be here in a day or two.
THANK YOU ALL!

Welcome aboard!
For your questions:
1. Alcohol in moderation is okay for some people. You have to do your own research. It may be that you can't lose weight with alcohol, but can add it back in when you are maintaining. You have to figure out what works for you.
2. While I'm not doubting the pain in your knee, sprinting tends to be less hard on joints than "running" because you should be sprinting on your toes, which puts the impact into your muscles and not your bones or joints. Hill sprints are even less jarring on your body. Ellipticals (for me, anyways) tend to promote a very unnatural stride, especially if I try to hang on to the handlebars. However, you have to figure out what works for you.
3. Yes, but don't go too briskly. There are numerous benefits from getting outside and doing real exercise, however: vitamin D and reduced eye problems from adequate sunshine, stabilizer muscle strengthening, and... I don't know what else, I guess. It's not a bad idea for winter time, but try to get outside as much as you can.

Comment

Being a carbie for any length of time, your liver probably isn't in the best shape and alcohol is going to slow down the healing process primal eating does for your liver, and you really do need a healthy liver. I'd go without the scotch for a while if possible.